Largest known Bronze Statue of the period of Chola Dynasty of Tamil Nadu - India

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Largest known Bronze Statue of the period of Chola Dynasty of Tamil Nadu - India

Extract from Yahoo India - News dated 20-1-2012

Nevada (US), Jan 9 (ANI): Prestigious Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam recently conducted an X-ray of its thousand-year-old monumental Shiva-Nataraja statue as a part of research and was surprised to know that it was cast in solid bronze.

Hollow sculptures have reportedly been a common practice in Europe since the Greek Antiquity. The museum discovered that even the aureole and the demon under Shiva's feet were also solid.

At 153 cm x 114.5 cm, this 300 kilograms Shiva statue is claimed to be the "largest known bronze statue from the Chola Dynasty kept in a museological collection outside of India" "This solid bronze Shiva is evidence of a high level of mastery of bronze casting", a Museum release says.

The complete extract of the above News Report is reproduced below with much thanks to "in.news.yahoo.com" for 'easy reading' of the interested Readers of Mayyam Hub Website.

X-ray of rare Shiva statue surprises Amsterdam museum

17 January 2012

Nevada (US), Jan 9 (ANI): Prestigious Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam recently conducted an X-ray of its thousand-year-old monumental Shiva-Nataraja statue as a part of research and was surprised to know that it was cast in solid bronze.

Hollow sculptures have reportedly been a common practice in Europe since the Greek Antiquity. The museum discovered that even the aureole and the demon under Shiva's feet were also solid.

This Dancing Shiva statue was X-rayed using high-energy digital radiation, along with the lorry transporting it, in the most powerful X-ray tunnel for containers of the Rotterdam customs authority, normally used to scan sea containers for suspicious contents. It is said to be the first research of its kind on a museological masterpiece.

At 153 cm x 114.5 cm, this 300 kilograms Shiva statue is claimed to be the largest known bronze statue from the Chola Dynasty kept in a museological collection outside of India. "This solid bronze Shiva is evidence of a high level of mastery of bronze casting", a Museum release says.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged the major museums of world to acquire more Hindu sculpture and art; dedicate permanent space to Hindu artefacts; and organize more exhibitions of Hindu art, sculptures, and architecture to make the present and future generations aware about their richness.

Rajan Zed argued that because of their richness and other factors, Hindu artefacts were becoming a favourite of museums in America and the West. Many prestigious museums already owned Hindu sculptures and other artefacts and many were planning to acquire them.

Even some formations in world famous Grand Canyon National Park of USA were named as Shiva Temple, Krishna Shrine, Vishnu Temple, Rama Shrine, Brahma Temple (7851 feet), and Hindu Amphitheatre, Zed pointed out.

According to Rajan Zed, various renowned museums in USA which have acquired statues and other artefacts of Hindu deities include Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond; Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California; Museum of Art and Archaeology in University of Missouri-Columbia, Missouri; Mingei International Museum in San Diego, California; American Museum of Natural History, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania; Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri; etc.

Zed further says that other prestigious world museums, which possess statues of Hindu deities, include British Museum in London, United Kingdom; Musae Guimet in Paris, France; Museum for Asiatische Kunst in Berlin, Germany; Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand; Beijing World Art Museum, China; National Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada; Victoria and Albert Museum in London, United Kingdom; etc. Thailand reportedly has a private Ganesha Museum.

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands, whose collection comprises 1.1 million objects dating from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Its history goes back to 1800 and it attracts about 900,000 visitors each year. A. Ruys is Chair while Anna Slaczka is curator of South Asian Art of this Museum which contains many stone and bronze sculptures from India.

Zed said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.(ANI)

Government of Tamil Nadu should enforce Laws to Prevent "Ancient Tamilian Art Treasures" being lost from Tamil Nadu

Stringent Laws should be enacted to prevent the great Art Treasures of Gold, Copper, Bronze, Iympon, Stones Images etc from being stolen from the Hindu Temples built by the Ancient & Medieval period Tamilian Rulers of Tamil Nadu and being smuggled and sold to other countries, but to be preserved as monuments of "Great Tamilian Traditional Art Forms" of the past - for their future posterity"

Largest known Bronze Statue of the period of Chola Dynasty of Tamil Nadu - India

Extract from Yahoo India - News dated 20-1-2012

Nevada (US), Jan 9 (ANI): Prestigious Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam recently conducted an X-ray of its thousand-year-old monumental Shiva-Nataraja statue as a part of research and was surprised to know that it was cast in solid bronze.

Hollow sculptures have reportedly been a common practice in Europe since the Greek Antiquity. The museum discovered that even the aureole and the demon under Shiva's feet were also solid.

At 153 cm x 114.5 cm, this 300 kilograms Shiva statue is claimed to be the "largest known bronze statue from the Chola Dynasty kept in a museological collection outside of India" "This solid bronze Shiva is evidence of a high level of mastery of bronze casting", a Museum release says.